American Idol 5: Which Idol Will Fall Third?

David is back again this week as things have slowly returned to normal for him. Don’t know where he was? Check out Why Bloomberg (Was) Lost for all the details. As a reminder, with David back, his thought will be noted in italics while Sting’s will be the main text.

Anyway, we, like many of you, had inwardly steeled ourselves to the fact that Kevin Covais would be with us for another two or three weeks. His elimination was the most pleasant surprise we’ve had so far this year!

Don’t get us wrong, we don’t despise Kevin at all. We just think he’s still very green and not at all ready for a competition with this kind of talent in it. We were afraid he would last when more deserving singers would fall before him. We hope he keeps singing – he’s not nearly as good as he’s going to be someday.

Where did it go wrong? First of all, he auditioned. He’s just not ready. Then, the whole sex-symbol/Chicken Little shtick completely ruined him as a serious contender. If I were Kevin, I would have battled both of those labels instead of playing along. Honestly, do you want to buy Chicken Little’s album? Years of experience will teach him that. Finally, he just didn’t measure up. Idol is full of teenagers this year. Paris and Lisa dust him in comparison. He just… wasn’t… ready.

But that was last week. For the ten Idols left, they should realize they have now turned a corner. They get to go on the inevitable tour. Millions who are getting to know them – and are expecting great things from them – are watching! As Paula rather astutely pointed out, they are mapping the blueprints to their future. Yeah, that was hokey, but true. Now, more than ever, every performance is a campaign speech as to why they should be the American Idol.

And, as campaign speeches go, Bucky is falling short on substance. Granted, in reality, Bucky is doing everything right – except singing convincingly. He’s infinitely likeable. Cute enough for women to like, boyish enough for younger girls, but he has that “we can grab a beer” vibe that makes him voteable for men. Unfortunately, Bucky hasn’t really had a standout performance yet, and in this stage of the game, he should have.

David says: I’m not sure I agree on Bucky being able to grab guys’ votes, but otherwise that description is exactly on the mark. Mind you, I’ve been expecting (and wanting) Bucky to be gone since the semi-finals. I was certain he would be sent packing after last week’s fiasco, but then I was pretty sure the same would happen weeks ago. Obviously, Bucky has tapped into some sort of fan base. I’m just not sure why.

Lisa Tucker found herself in the bottom three again last week, but she was quickly sent back to the couch. That could be taken as a sign that viewers are coming around to her, but is it too late? Is it Lisa’s own fault? There is no question that Lisa has a fantastic singing voice. Astonishing power and poise for such a young girl. But, like Diana DeGarmo before her, there is something missing – a connection somehow. Simon made the comparison of a glass wall separating Diana from the audience, and Lisa has that as well. It’s tough to break. It’s look we’re always watching her perform, but we’re never with her. The only cure for this is song selection. She has to find songs that mean something to her, and she has to convey that passion to us. It’s very easy to pick songs you can do well, but you have no connection to at all. That would be deadly for Lisa’s campaign.

David says: I don’t really see the lack of connection. Instead, I simply see Lisa fighting for votes with Paris. They are both young girls who are battling for similar fan bases. Obviously, Lisa is losing right now. For that reason, I expect her to be the first “shocking loss” of the season – though by this point it won’t be much of a surprise, since she’s already visited the bottom three a couple times.

Finding a third member of the bottom three is going to be tough. Kellie Pickler just hasn’t been picking it up. Ace needs a hands-down winning performance, and he needs one right now. Chris Daughtry is beginning to get that one-note reputation which is not exactly good. Simon called it “uncompromising,” but is it reading “unable to do anything else”? Then, there is all that flap about Chris taking credit for the “Walk the Line” arrangement that he allegedly stole from the band Live. There could be some backlash.

(As long as we’re on the subject, let’s talk about that. I have every Live album ever made. The arrangement that Chris did is similar to Live’s, but they are not exactly the same. And anyone who says that Chris sounds like Live’s Ed Kowalczyk is just flat wrong. I really don’t understand what the hub-bub is about. Like I read Kim Caldwell say in an interview, “we were doing cover songs.” Is he supposed to know how to arrange the band too? As for the argument that he accepted credit for the arrangement, my recollection is that the accolades he got could have been interpreted as being for his overall performance. I don’t know that he was supposed to dissect everything for the judges, versus nodding and saying thank you, which is what we ask them to do. Just not ready to convict.)

David says: Sting and I disagree somewhat here. First, I don’t think anybody who is a Chris fan will be so upset about the “Live” flap that they won’t vote for him. As such, I don’t expect a backlash. As far as the way he handled it, he did talk about handling the arrangement differently when he had to know he was really just using the Live arrangement. And then he stood onstage and let the judges talk about how he made it his own when, in fact, he didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling for his head like some people are. I’m just saying he should have handled it differently – and better. Idol viewers don’t like liars, and if they even believe he has lied, he could suffer.

In any case, I think Ace is at the most risk this week other than the two already mentioned. He simply has not picked up the pace. All the sexy looks at the camera aren’t going to win him a record deal – just as Justin Guarini.

So, I say bottom three for sure will be Bucky, and probably Lisa again. The third member… I’m going to say Kellie. I get the sense that America is starting to sour on this Podunk thing she’s selling us. “What’s a ballsy?” Come on, now.

David says: While I’d like to think that Kellie and her clown makeup will join the bottom three, I just don’t see it happening yet. I agree with Bucky and Lisa, but will throw Ace in there again.

Still, I think it will be a fond fairwell to Bucky this week. David says: On that we can both agree.

Sting7 has been a respected published writer for many years, as a music editor, entertainment critic, columnist, and interviewer. He also has a curious love for pro-wrestling! You can email Stinger at stingseven@yahoo.com. David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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